After witnessing his wife wrapping wads of cotton around toothpicks in the early 1920s, inventor Leo Gerstenzang came up with the idea of a ready-to-use swab. He founded the Leo Gerstenzang Infant Novelty Company in 1923. The name of his leading product? Baby Gays — presumably for the relief babies would feel after their mothers stopped poking them with toothpicks. In 1926, the product name was changed to Q-Tips Baby Gays, and eventually, the “Baby Gays” bit was dropped altogether. (In case you’re wondering, the Q stands for “quality.”)